The present invention pertains to setting up or erection of large tents such as those used for garden parties, wedding receptions and the like.
Most large tents have one if not several main tent poles, which support the canopy or roof of the tent when it is fully erected. The main tent poles in combination with side poles, ropes and stakes secure the tent in position.
When erecting a large tent the tent material is fully laid out in the area in which the tent will rise. The tent poles having a tent end (an end that supports the tent material) and a second or distal end which sits on the ground (ground end) are placed underneath the tent by physically going under the tent and erecting the tent poles. It can take many men to set up the poles and hold them in place, until the side poles and ropes are put into place and fastened.
Tent erection is by and large a manual task and any improvements to erecting tents would be a strict advance in the art.
The present invention is a method and apparatus for single handed erection of the main poles of a tent by inserting the ground end of the tent pole in a carrier which can be drawn along the ground in a direction toward the spot where the ground end of the tent pole should be placed in its fully erected position.
Therefore, in one aspect the present invention is an apparatus for raising a tent pole from a horizontal position to a vertical position comprising in combination: a base having means to fix the base to the ground proximate a final position for a ground end of the tent pole; a winch mounted on the base, the winch having a cable winding drum with a cable, the cable having a first end fixed to the cable drum, the cable adapted to be payed off and wound around the cable drum, and the cable having a second or free end having means to hold the ground end of the tent pole, the means adapted to move the tent pole from a generally longitudinal position to a vertical position when the cable is wound onto the cable drum.
In another aspect, the present invention is a method for raising a tent supported by a tent pole comprising the steps of: spreading the tent on the ground; positioning the tent supporting end of the tent pole proximate an inner surface of the tent as dictated by a configuration of the tent being raised; inserting a ground end of the tent pole in a receptacle adapted to be moved along the ground and gradually raising the tent pole from a generally horizontal to a generally vertical position by moving the receptacle along the ground to position the tent pole in an upright position.